Out in the Open
by carinims01
Summary: When hired men come to Alex's high school, crashing through his English class' windows, looking for him, what will happen? How can he keep his secret? And what will happen next? Set after Snakehead. Reveal Fic!
1. Chapter 1

**AN - This is my first fanfiction! YAY! anyway, i hope you like it! please Read and Review!**

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Alex slammed his locker door, his best friend, Tom Harris, glancing at him from across the hall.

"What's up?," he asked cautiously. When Alex was in a bad mood, he knew better than to get on his bad side, but he also knew what would happen if Alex was left to his own devices in a time like this.

"The usual MI6. They want me to go on another mission, this time I'd be going to America, the White House to be more precise. Sounds great, right? They want me to pretend I'm a regular kid on a regular field trip during an exchange student program. Again, sound great, right? Wrong, while pretending I'm a regular kid on a regular field trip they want me to spy on the staff. _Apparently_, they have a lead that one of the staff members is selling illegal information to local gang groups. You know, who has the drugs and who's about to get busted. The thing is, I'm supposed to be going with Jack to visit her family in Washington, D.C. That's why they want me to do this, they happen to find it _convenient._" Alex sprawled out, almost in one breath. He was really annoyed that MI6 kept doing this to him.

"Well, can't you just say 'sorry, I have plans, unless you haven't noticed I am a 16 year old high schooler whose guardian want to visit her family'?"

That's one of the things Alex loved about Tom. He was the one person he could really talk to about MI6. If he told Jack anything, she's just be worried out of her mind. He couldn't tell anyone else, and Tom listened. He could always manage - though Alex always wondered how - to get him to smile. Tom was the one there when his uncle died and they grew up together. Tom was about the same height as Alex, but Alex was built better, a wonder considering everything he'd been through the last few years. While Alex had fair hair that fell into his brown eyes, Tom had short brown hair with brown eyes.

"Unfortunately not, I think that might annoy Mr. Blunt. If I say no then he'll blackmail me or something like that. He's already done it once. Besides Mrs. Jones is with him on this one. She says it's completely fool proof, no danger whatsoever, just a little field trip. Except the only thing is it's never _not_ dangerous. I remember that one mission in Point Blanc, 'oh, don't worry Alex, you'll do fine', oh, yes, and then I pretty much get cloned, and captured, and shot at, and chased down a mountain, then Wolf took a bullet for me, which by the way, getting shot _hurts_, then I exploded a helicopter, _that_ part was fun, but getting knocked out in the snow, not so much. And to top it off, Smithers already gave me my gadgets, I think that's the only thing I ever have to look forward to on any of these missions I'm forced to go on!"

Alex was still on a rampage, but Tom was more than used to it. He felt that if Alex could go on dangerous mission, get shot, shot at, and chased, risking his life to stop the bad guys, then the least he could do was listen to Alex vent. It was actually almost comforting, knowing that Alex trusted him with this. He didn't sign a confidentiality agreement or anything, but Alex trusted him not to talk.

"Hey, we better go, you can tell me more about your 'exciting' adventures at lunch. Come on, the bells gonna ring." Tom said.

It was true, between rummaging through his locker to find his textbook and venting to Tom, they had lost track of time, the bell was going to ring any second and of they were late to class again, they'd definitely get a detention.

_ Great another thing for Jack to worry about._ Alex thought grimly. He knew Jack was always worried out of her mind when he went on mission, and he didn't blame her for it, but he did think that she was watching too much t.v. Jack likes action movies and that doesn't help at all, so the last thing she needed to worry about was why Alex got a detention.

"Well, lets go then," he replied.

They jogged down the corridor to the last door on the right, and snuck through just as the bell rang. Their English teacher, Mr. Young, had his back to the door scribbling something on the whiteboard. He was in his early thirties with brown hair, short in the back while a little long in the front. It was all very _Doctor Who_ but no one would call him out on it. His blue striped shirt was stark again the whiteboard. He wore regular blue jeans, and sneakers. Alex and Tom slid into their seats just as he turned around. They sat next to each other, like every other class they had together. In English, they always had the seats next to the window, looking over the field at the back of the school. Being on the second floor, they had a pretty good view. Gym class wasn't outside today so the bleachers were lonely, which made the view even better.

When Mr. Young turned around, the words he was scribbling became strikingly apparent.

'_Pop Quiz'_

Alex groaned. Tom looked at him curiously, he nodded at the board. Tom groaned as well. Mr. Young heard Alex, but Tom's following groan caught his attention.

"Yes, class," his eyes starting with the two boys and then beginning to rove around the room and to the other students, "you will be taking a quiz today!"

"But you didn't give us any time to study!" A student named Arthur called out, he had blond hair, blue eyes, rather tall for a sophomore.

"_That, _Arthur, is the point of a _pop_ quiz!" Mr. Young called out good-naturedly. He grabbed a stack of papers off of his wooden desk, and started handing them out at random. He got to the two boys and winked. "Good luck." He knew neither boys had studied. It wasn't in Tom to study for anything, and while Alex occasionally studied for quizzes and tests, he just hadn't the time.

"I hope you all read the next chapter in _Merlin_!" Mr. Young called out. He finally arrived back at the front of the class, sitting down at his desk he called, "tests are out, no talking, when you're done with your test, stack them on the my desk."

He looked away from the class, and down at the paperwork on his desk, filing through papers.

The air was filled with the sound of scribbling as the students filled in the endless questions on the quiz. The first part was just basic vocabulary from different chapters in _Merlin_.

'If Uther was a _tyrant _he was...'

'The Knights were _chivalrous _in their various matched, meant that he was...'

And so on and so forth.

It wasn't until around the 20th question that something changed. Other than the sound of kids scribbling answers that barely made any sense on their short answer questions, there was a slight buzzing noise. Alex didn't think anything of it at first. Neither did Tom. After all, people were always taking tour guides around London, seeing the River Thames and everything, so neither thought there was anything particular about it. Then as it got closer, the buzzing go louder, Alex began to feel something. It was one of those feelings he got right when something was about to go wrong on a mission. Just that feeling in his stomach. He glanced over at Tom, who caught his gaze. Tom looked at Alex curiously, he had a look on his face like he was trying to get his bearings. He only ever had that look when he was concentrating. Tom squinted his eyes, trying to ask what was wrong, Alex just shrugged.

"Nothing, I hope." But Alex knew this feeling, something was happening, he didn't know what it was, any clue for that matter, but he knew the feeling.

A shadow passed over the window, splaying grey over his desk. The buzzing sound was now very loud, deafening even, as the windows were cracked open for air.

"What in the world?" said, wonderously.

The intercom crackled to life

"_To students and faculty please stay in your respective classrooms, there has obviously been a mistake, as I'm sure you've all heard the helicopter in the roof, now again, please remain in your classrooms until everything is sorted out. Thank you."_

The intercom fizzed out, and the class was left with the buzzing from the helicopter.

The feeling in Alex's stomach tripled in response.

Mr. Young stood at his desk and called out, "Can someone please close the windows?"

A girl named Jessica got up and moved toward the window.

This time several shadows splayed on the windows, creating grey around on the classrooms floor.

"Wait!" Alex called out, but it was too late.

The glass shattered as five men came crashing through the window. Jessica screamed and took a few steps backward. The men, all dressed in black, wore tight, leather-looking outfits, honestly they looked more like burglars than anything else, they also all wore black ski-masks so Alex couldn't see their faces. Tom looked over at Alex, astounded. The class collectively screamed and made their way to the back of the room. Alex followed, if only to stay in character.

Mr. Young tried to calm everyone down and get them to stop screaming, they did as the sound of glass falling across the floor finally stopped. The five men stood up from their crouched position from smashing in the window. Their boots made the fallen grass crunch under the pressure of their steps as they slowly took a step forward, unclenching a length of cord from their belts.

_The cords they used to repel from the roof._ Alex thought. He had been rock climbing with his uncle plenty of times before his death.

The men eventually took off their masks, revealing their faces. The one in the center, presumably the leader had short, ginger hair, with green eyes, with a scar on his cheek. The one on his right had long blond hair with blue eyes, the man on his right had short, brown hair with brown eyes. The men on the leaders left looked similar, both with brown hair, though different lengths, with blue eyes. They weren't related as far as Alex could tell, they just looked similar.

Tom looked at Alex with a mixture of fear and excitement. He always daydreamed what it would be like to go on a mission with Alex, maybe this would be his chance!

"Hello everyone!" The man with the scar called out. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him. He had a rough voice, with a faint Irish accent.

"My name's David, and we're on a mission of sort, see, looking for someone," he said in a gruff voice. Tom immediately shot a look at Alex, worried for his friend, he knew that no one in this class got into enough trouble for five men to come smashing into their English class, except for him. Tom always thought that Alex would make enemies along the way, but he never really fantasized about _meeting _them. Alex looked confused for a second, so Tom thought he had never met these people before either, but then there was a glint of familiarity in his eyes, which made Tom even more nervous. If Alex knew them, then they were most definitely _bad _guys.

"So if you all cooperate, then there won't be any problems, got it?"

The class remained silent, looking at the men with fear in their eyes. Apparently the man, David, as he called himself, took that as a yes, and continued.

"Right, so the kid we're lookin' for goes, fondly, by the name of Alex Rider."

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**Soooo..? did u like the first chapter? im thinking this is going to be 3 chapters long? anything anyone wants to see in the next chapter?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Here's chapter 2! YAY! i wrote it Tuesday, but wanted to get other chapters written to tir them i better! in writing chap. 4 at the moment!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who favorited/ story alerted/ or author alerted (surprised by that one) me or my story! THANKS also to everyone who reviewed! Being my first story it's always GREAT to get feedback! Thanks to Bookdancer to correcting me on Tom's appearance! It's been a while since I read the books, so i wasn't sure! again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews and to everyone who told me to 'update soon!'**

**Well, here it is! hope you like it!**

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Last time...

_The class remained silent, looking at the men with fear in their eyes. Apparently the man, David, as he called himself, took that as a yes, and continued._

"_Right, so the kid we're lookin' for goes, fondly, by the name of Alex Rider."_

_What?_ Everyone in the whole class thought in their heads. They knew that Alex had been gone from school a lot recently, but they just swallowed the rumor that he was a druggie, what'd he do to get mixed up with this group?

Alex immediately hit the red button on his watch. One of the many gadgets that Smithers had given him for his 'next mission.'

_If anything goes wrong on the mission, hit the red button, we'll have backup there within 15 minutes, plus we're working with the CIA again, so they'll be there in 5!' _

Unfortunately, he wasn't on a mission, and they weren't working with the CIA yet. So Alex just decided he'd have to kill some time waiting for MI6.

"Alex Rider? I'm waiting." David growled out, a scowl on his face.

Everyone in the class swiveled their heads in his direction, more out of shock than actually wanting to tell the man where he was. Tom didn't have to move his head, he was still gaping at Alex incredulously. Alex glanced at his various classmates, all their eyes wide with shock and fear.

"So you're Alex Rider then?" David asked, even though the answer was pretty obvious.

Alex took a few steps forward, still a few feet from the intruding men, but also a few feet from the class in case anything happened. He spread his feet apart to balance his weight.

"Yes, I'm Alex. Who are you? Who sent you?" Alex asked.

"Well, I already told you who I am, as for our employers, you'll find out soon enough, won't you?" David replied, almost mockingly. "Grab 'em."

Two of his men, the ones in the far back came forward to grab Alex. As soon as one of the men tried reaching out for his shoulder, Alex flung out his hand, grabbed the man's hand, and held his arm behind his back. The man let out a gasp of surprise as Alex pushed him forward, kicked his back, and in turn his hand, and he went sprawling into the other man that had been told to grab Alex, both men stumbled, but kept their footing.

The class as a whole gasped, it had all happened so fast that they had had barely enough time to process that this man wanted Alex, Alex acted like this was_ normal_ and then defended himself from two of the six men.

"I heard you were quick, but I don't think you'll be doing that again." David said through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, and why not? I've taken on more than six buffoons before." Alex replied. He wasn't even breathless from the brief fight.

"So I've heard, but we're not ordinary 'buffoons' as you say, and on any other occasion, you didn't have precious, innocent classmates to account for, did you?" He sounded almost happy, but considering he now had leverage, he probably was.

In everything that had been happening, Alex had forgotten about his clueless classmates. Turning around, he looked at the wary group. All of them were just staring and gaping at Alex. Some had questions in their eyes, others had wonder, Tom wasn't scared as much as he was worried, he had heard of Alex's' countless fights, but he'd never witnessed them, but with all these emotions running through their eyes, there was one that was prevalent in every face, fear. They were all scared. Though Alex could hardly blame them, most of them had probably never been robbed, much less used as hostages. They had never been in these kind situations before. He had of course, but David was right, there had never been innocent people to account for. He gave them a small, encouraging smile and turned back to the men in front of him.

He gave them a small nod, barely noticeable. He gave in. He knew he couldn't do anything unless the situation was necessary, because if he did he would be putting his class in danger, and as much as he didn't like some kids in that class, he couldn't risk their lives. David had already made it clear what would happen if he didn't cooperate. He hadn't said it in so many words, but Alex knew how to read between the lines, he'd have to understand half the things Mr. Blunt always said/implied.

"Grab 'em." David barked out.

The same two men from earlier came forward. Tom did too in order to help his friend, but Alex saw this and looked at him, slowly shaking his head, Alex didn't want his friend getting hurt trying to protect him. The two men reached Alex and grabbed either of his shoulders, the one Alex had grabbed on his left, the other on his right. Alex noticed that the man he grabbed, the one with short, brown hair, had a softer grip on him than his other companion, and how his fingers twitched slightly. Alex chalked it down to the hard kick he had given had possibly sprained the man's wrist.

_That could be useful. _

The men then grabbed his elbows as well with their other hand and pushed him down, forcing Alex to his knees. Alex grunted as his knees hit the cold floor.

"Hey!" Tom said, taking a slight step forward. He didn't even register that he said it until everyone turned to look at him. Alex gave him a pleading look that said 'be quiet, don't put yourself in danger, _please_,' while the other men just glared at him.

"Quiet now, we won't be having any of that." David said, leaving everyone knowing that was the end of the brief conversation. Tom glared at David, but still managed to look sheepish. He quieted down, but he never took a step back to his previous position, Alex felt pride well up in him as Tom showed how brave he could be. Alex gave him a small nod and a tiny smile, then turned his attention back to the situation at hand. He noticed that only David ever talked, the others just gave people looks. David continued in his rough voice.

"Now I intended to do this at the warehouse, but I think it would be more fun to have an audience, don't you? I heard you were always one for drama. Your father was too! As was your uncle!"

Alex stared at David open mouthed. The class did too. They had all heard the story of how Alex's' parents had died when he was very young, and how his uncle had died only a few years ago, leaving him with no relatives that he knew of. They had summed it up to Alex had lost his last family member, got depressed, and turned to drugs. It was obvious now that they were all very wrong.

Apparently David noticed the wondrous look on Alex's face, as he answered the question that had never been asked, laughing all the while.

"Oh, yes, I knew your father, and your uncle, though not personally, I regret to say. They were hard men to catch, mind you, but we got 'em eventually. Though now that I think about it I think we had to hold your mother hostage, then they played right into our hands, the two of them."

Alex struggled against the mens' grip, he had never _wanted _to attack someone, all the fighting he did had always been self-defence, but now he did. The pressure on his shoulders increased as they held him down. Alex had a look in his eye that only made David laugh even more.

Tom though these men were sick, laughing like this. Though he was in shock as much as everyone else. _They_ had held Alex's mother _hostage_? He couldn't see Alex's face, but he imagined a look of hate and incredibility on his face as he struggled against the captors' hold. He barely noticed the look of fear, questions, well, mostly fear, that everyone in the class held, including Mr. Young. Tom was sure that everyone had all seen action movies, but he was also sure that none of them had been in a situation such as this one before either.

"Yes, well, as much fun as it is reminiscing, we have to get down to business. We can talk about this later if you want, we'll have plenty of time to talk later, don't worry!" David chimed out.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Alex growled. He glanced at the wall clock hanging on the wall to the right, he still had about 10 minutes to kill before MI6 got here.

The man glared at Alex, half annoyance, and half mirth. He was _amused_ that Alex was reacting to his prompts. Alex quickly shut up as he realized he had played right into his hand.

"Who sent you?" Alex repeated, he didn't think that he'd get an answer considering he hadn't the last time he had asked, but to his surprise, his question was answered.

"Why, Alex, I'm surprised you haven't realized it yet! Our _employers_, as they are so fond of calling themselves, are none other than some old friends, you may remember them, they _are _kind of hard to forget. And they _are_ a rather large organization. Catching on?" David replied, jovially.

"Scorpia." Alex said.

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**How was that? Please Review! the more reviews I get the more motivated I am to post more chapters!**


	3. Chapter 3

**HIII! I first want to thanks everyone who favorites or story alerted this! THANKS! you guys are awesome! thanks for all the reviews as well!**

**I was so happy that my story got nearly 700 hits, so I decided to treat you guys to the next chapter early! *no...sorry random kid in the back, there is no milk and cookies...just words...***

**Anywho...*ignoring that kid in the back as he asks for popcorn...* here's the 3rd chapter! hope you like it!**

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Last time...

"_Why, Alex, I'm surprised you haven't realized it yet! Our employers, as they are so fond of calling themselves, are none other than some old friends, you may remember them, they are kind of hard to forget. And they are a rather large organization. Catching on?" David replied, jovially._

_ "Scorpia." Alex said._

It was said as a statement, not a question, and Alex immediately knew he was right when he received a sunny grin from the man.

"Ha! Good, you do remember!" David said.

"Of course I do, they only ruined my life." Alex said through clenched teeth. He mentally kicked himself. He should have known really, only Scorpia would be able to hold a grudge against a 16 year old kid, who was way in over their head.

Tom stared at the men with newfound fear. Fear for himself, his class, and obviously his best friend who was kneeling on the floor with is back to the class. He had heard of Scorpia, of course. What they had done, and Alex's infiltration of the estranged group. He also knew what they were capable of.

The class as a whole stayed the same, except for a barely perceptible glint of curiosity in their eyes. They didn't know who Scorpia was or what they had done to Alex, Tom realized. He wondered if they were soon to find out, or if Alex's past would remain a secret, to be guarded fiercely. Tom knew that Alex hated it when people showed sympathy for him. When his uncle had died, he had only accepted comforting from him and Jack, while ignoring anyone else who tried to help.

_Oh, Jack is going to love this! I'm sure Mrs. Jones is going to get a mouthful when Jack hears about this!"_ Tom thought.

He thought that that might be the only good thing about this entire situation, is that when it was all over, and everyone was ok, Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt would get told off by Jack. They did after all the other missions Alex went on, especially when he came home with sundry injuries. He hadn't wanted to be in their shoes when after Alex had been shot, right outside headquarters no less! Of course, he knew about Alex getting shot, he'd been the one to cover for him when boys in the locker room saw the large bruise on his chest. 'Paintballing accident' they blamed it on. Alex still had the scar, but no one called him out on it.

"Right! I almost forgot! Yeah, sorry about your parents, but at least they died painlessly! They never saw it coming! Unfortunately, your uncle did though. I wasn't hired for that one, but I almost wish I was, just to see his face!" David rang out in his Irish accent.

Alex struggled against the men once more when David spoke about his parents and his uncle so passively. Their grip tightened in response.

The class gawked at the man's statement. Tom looked sad. He knew what happened, it had taken some prying, but Tom thought it would be better for Alex to talk about his parents death rather than keep it bottled up, so after he had come home from his first Scorpia mission, downtrodden, Tom had got him talking, and after he started, he hadn't stopped.

Alex didn't say anything, but he suddenly had an avid interest in the once white tiles on the floor. Tom got to see his eyes as he swiveled his face away from the man, looking over to the side to keep the David from seeing his face. His brown eyes were full of pain, raw and new. He had come to accept that his parents had died in an _accident_, not a well planned murder. This information had had Alex mourning all over again, it was like his uncle had died, again. Tom knew this, Alex never cried, but he knew that learning that both his parents and his uncle had been _murdered_ had made him depressed, infuriation when he first found out, but then depressed. He knew because he had been the one that Alex told and Tom had helped him though it. Tom saw Alex's eyes harden and put up a mask in his face, an emotionless, blank mask that hid trifle emotions. Alex's head swiveled back to face David, letting his blond hair fall where it may.

Seeing Alex hadn't taken the bait, David was slightly irked, it showed on his face.

"So when did Scorpia begin hiring thugs like you to do their dirty work anyway? They have a whole school of trained black belts, why not use them?" Alex questioned.

"Well, as you know, they're training, plus I _asked_ for this job. It's almost like payback for your parents and uncle managing to escape. No, I don't usually work with Scorpia, but they do get outside help every once in awhile, plus crashing into windows is a hobby of mine, so I thought it would be good fun!" David was only more than happy to answer.

"John, can I have Alex's folder please?" David asked with mock courtesy.

John, the man on David's right, shrugged his black pack off his shoulders, making his blond hair sway. He unzipped the largest pocket taking out a rather large manila folder, handed it to David then put the pack in the ground next to his feet.

"Well, lets see what we have here! I have, of course, already gone through it, thoroughly." David prompted.

He flipped it around to show the cover of the folder to Alex, and in turn the class.

_Case File: Alex Rider : Top Secret_.

It was in red ink, and looked like a giant stamp had assaulted the paper. It was all very regal, and Alex was almost honoured to have the '_Top Secret'_ bit on his folder.

Mr. Young's English class were still gaping with open mouths, nothing really changing, except for the volley of questions berating their minds, a quickly growing number of questions. Tom was a bit curious to know exactly what was held in the folder, and it showed too.

"How can you not be terrified?" Someone, a girl named Ashley, Ash for short, on his right hissed out.

"I knew." He answered back just as quietly. "He's been in this situation more than once, and always got out safe, he will this time too." Tom felt confident that they would get out of this, they would _all_ get through this.

"_What?_" Ashley whispered back incredulously, her long brown hair falling in her face for a moment, before her hand reached up to effectively return the strand to its place behind her ear.

"Shh!" Tom hissed back.

Furious whispers spread through the group as Ashley quickly spread around what Tom had told her. Everyone was rethinking their theory that Alex was a druggie.

If David had heard the momentary conversation, or the rapid whispering, he had chosen to ignore it, instead glancing at the different pages in the folder, looking for something interesting to literally, share with the class.

Alex on the other hand, had heard it, first Tom's whispers, then the whispering. He turned his head to look at Tom. He rolled his eyes at the boy, making Tom smile, just barely holding back a snort.. He swiveled his head in the other direction to get a better look at the majority of the one time English class, now turned 'hostage class.'

There was something in their eyes that made Alex want to smile. He did too, he gave them a devilish grin, that said that Tom's statement was true. He _had_ been on these situations before, worse even, and _always_ came out alive, maybe with a few cuts and bruises, but alive. His gaze continued to wander amongst the students, as he looked in their eyes, that emotion that had made Alex want to smile was identified. It was hope. It was small, but it was there If he had been in through this before, he would be ok, which meant that they would be ok.

Alex made a silent promise to them that he would get them out of this, and soon, it had been going on long enough. Alex once again looked at the clock, surprised at the time, it had been _25_ minutes since he had sent the silent message to MI6, which only meant one thing.

MI6 was late.

They either hadn't gotten the message or they have waved it off. He knew that Smithers gadgets were always handy in tough situations, but that didn't mean they were perfect. They had malfunctioned before, and Alex hoped that it hadn't happened now. He also knew that even if they had gotten the message, Mr. Blunt would be more the one to wave it off. He knew that Mrs. Jones would at least want to check it out, make sure everything was ok.

_Great! They decide to be late _now!Alex thought, heavily sarcastic. He would just have to hold the men off until they got here.

But as David continued to rifle through the bulky folder, the weirdest thing happened.

The fire alarm went off.

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**so...i gotta ask...HOW WAS IT? did u like it? hate it? what? *still ignoring kid in back* PLEASE review (i love those!) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hii! im back! sorry it took a while, had to go back to the other chapters...dont know if anyone noticed, but i set it up so there was six guys, when i've only been playing five *rolls eyes* so i went back and changed it! YAY! no more confusion (on my part..) thanks again to all readers! especially commenters! **

**Just to clarify, when David mentioned Alex' parents' death, and I said it was like he had to relive it when he found out, it was meant to be a short flashback from when he had first learned from Ash...sorry about the confusion, and thanks for pointing it out!**

***im still ignoring the kid in the back...* sorry!**

**Anyway! Enjoy!**

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Last time...

_Great! They decide to be late now! Alex thought. He would just have to hold the men off until they got here._

_ But as David continued to rifle through the bulky folder, the weirdest thing happened._

_ The fire alarm went off._

The buzzer sounded loudly echoing off the classroom walls, while a red light roved around the room from its place by the clock. Everyone's attention was directed to the flashing lights and the deafening blare of the siren. It was just the distraction that Alex needed.

He immediately grabbed the man on his left wrist, the one he had possibly sprained in the earlier fight, and twisted it backwards, catching him off guard. He yelled out in shock and surprise. Alex rose to his feet and kicked the man on his right in the stomach. The man tumbled back and head hit the filing cabinet behind him, successfully knocking him out cold.

_One down, four to go then._ Alex though, slightly pleased with himself that the man could be taken out so easily.

He still had hold of the man's wrist, he twisted him around and kicked him in the back, again, shoving him into a students desk, where he tripped hit the floor, and didn't get back up. Alex guessed he'd been knocked out too.

_This is too easy!_ Alex thought.

By now the other three had realized that Alex was making the great escape and glared at him menacingly, David especially.

_If looks could kill...I'd be dead...a looonnggg time ago..._Alex surmised, inwardly chuckling.

Tom and the rest of the class looked on with newfound awe, they had seen Alexs' earlier fight, but they'd never seen him knock anyone out.

David looked at the blond man on the right and nodded his head in Alex' direction.

"Go for it, Charles," he called out, wanting to be heard over the blaring alarm, still clutching Alexs' bulky folder in his hand, though not rifling through it anymore: instead he was watching the fight with interest.

Charles walked over towards Alex diagonally, his blond curls bouncing on his head, reflecting the red light that was still bouncing off the white classroom walls. He kind of circled Alex until he was standing in front of the first man he had knocked out. Both challengers now parallel to the class, on their right, and the two remaining men on their left. Alex turned to face him, spreading his feet to balance his weight. The man copied his movement.

_Great this guy knows karate!_, he thought glumly. The first two had been easy to get rid of, but now this guy! _Don't I ever get a break?_

The man, 'Charles,' he'd been called, took a step forward to make the first move. He swung his right foot up to connect it with Alex' temple. Alex brought up his left fist and blocked the kick with his forearm, while kicking out with his own left foot and hooking it behind the man's left knee. When the man brought down his foot, Alex leaned back slightly, making the Charles fall backwards from his knees. His hands stopped him from completing his descent to the floor.

If the situation hadn't been so tense, the class might have laughed, but in a life or death struggle, where the bad guy was just knocked over, you don't laugh, so the class continued to stare and gape at the fast paced fight in front of them. Tom, however, did snort, barely containing an incoming smile of satisfaction.

Charles pushed himself upright, with a scowl on his face, and annoyance in his eyes, his blond curls out of place and slightly falling in his eyes. He spread his feet once more, leaning more on his left foot, then his right. Alex noticed this and made his move.

He swung out with his left foot, and connected it with the man's knee once more, Charles realized what was happening and swung his left fist out, this this time he did connect to Alex' temple, but not before Alex hit him in the nose, knocking them both down.

The class collectively gasped as their friend and protector went down, a line of crimson trailing down his cheek. Tom cringed at the sight.

Alex felt slightly dazed as he made his way up. The hit to his temple had hurt, but he couldn't help but feel satisfaction when a crack came from the man's nose. Charles made his way to stand as well, sporting a bloody nose. He was more than simply glaring at Alex now. He looked like he had murder in his eyes.. The wayward English class gasped at that alone.

"Richard, help him out." David said, barely heard over the still buzzing fire alarm. The brown haired man made his way over toward Alex as well, though on his other side, the three of them making a rough triangle as each one studied the others. Richard gave Charles a small nod, Charles returned the nod, then the pair flashed their gaze back to Alex, who was left to wonder what that almost in inconspicuous nod could mean.

Suddenly the new recruit in the fight, Richard, swung out his left foot, bringing it high in the air, Charles did the same with his right, only seconds later, copying each others' movements. Alex brought up his left forward, tensing his legs and arm to withstand the blow. He did, the kick stung his arm, but not as much as Charles' kick.

Alex hadn't been able to react fast enough, so when Charles' foot connected with his rib he gasped for air, and his rib cracked. Alex cried out with the shock and pain of the unexpected blow. His hand instinctively went to his side, putting pressure on his newest injury. He would have doubled over if he hadn't still had to face two men. He was breathing heavily, still trying to regain his breath, but his injured rib wasn't letting him take large breaths.

"Alex!" Tom yelled out, clearly worried for his best friend. Alex was clearly in trouble, his face was contorted in pain, slightly red, clashing with his fair hair, and his brown eyes wide with the shock of the blow. Not to mention the still flowing blood from his temple, and the growing bruise on his forearm.

The class gasped loudly. Most of them had grown up with the wayward student. They were clearly worried for their friend, even some of the kids who had once bullied both Tom and Alex were clearly distressed over their guardian's predicament.

The two men took advantage of Alex' bad situation and continued their assault on the hapless teenager. Richard swung out with his foot, tripping Alex, so that he landed on his back right when he had almost gotten his breath back.

Alex gasped again, if he thought getting his rib broken had hurt, this was worse, he was once again winded. His back arched when he hit the floor, making him gasp again, his body trying to suck in lost oxygen. Alex was seeing black spots in the corner of his vision, but knew he had to keep fighting, or else be taken back to Scorpia, and that was the one place he _no_ interest in going again, not to mention what might happen to his English class if he gave up, _and _ he had made himself a promise to get them _all_ out safely, himself included. Facing Scorpia once had been enough, then they had come back for revenge, failed, and now this? Didn't they ever give up?

_No._ Alex answered his own question. He knew that they had never _really_ been challenged, now that they had they wouldn't stop until he was defeated.

Paul then made his way around Alex so that he stood by his head, while Charles stood at his feet. Alex saw all this out of his peripheral vision as he slowly got to his feet, the men being chivalrous enough to let him do so in his injured state.

_Wow...maybe I do learn something in school..._Alex allowed himself a small smile, but his outward appearance didn't project that smile.

He slowly turned, his face still pinched as the slight movement sent a wave of pain through his chest, radiating from his injured rib.

He had both men on either side of his vision, Charles on his right, and Richard on his left, as well as the class on his left, he saw more of Tom than anyone, as he still was a step in front of the group and little ways to the left of the main gathering. Alex felt a bit of pride towards Tom agian.

He could clearly see the concern etched on his friends' face. He took a few deeps breaths, well, as deep of a breath as you can take when every little breath hurts, and calmed himself, spreading his feet once more in a defensive position. His eyes still showed the illusive pain, but it was lessening as he focused his attention on the either of the men.

Charles made the first move by dropping low to the ground, and swung his body in a circular motion, his leg extended. He had intended to trip Alex, but Alex saw it coming and jumped into the air, he could hear the _swoosh_ of the man's leather pants, as they swept through the air, barely missing Alex's sneakers. In his descent, Alex decided what to do, when his feet once again meet tile, he swung out his right leg, and before Charles could return to a standing position, he quickly found himself back on the floor when Alex's heel swiftly connected with the man's head. He saw black as his vision swirled, and he quickly found himself in dreamland.

While Charles unleashed his attack plan, Tom made for his own. He was tired of just _watching_ as his friend exchanged blows with the men, and he was extremely worried about Alex, so just as Alex swung his leg, connecting with Charles' temple, Tom brought up a sturdy wooden chair that had previously accompanied one of the desks that were now scattering the room, haphazardly. He lifted up the chair, and brought it down on Richard's head. Richard stood for a moment longer, then tumbled to the floor.

The sudden sound of wood cracking bought Alex's' attention. He quickly turned around, fully expecting Paul to have made some sort of weapon from one of the chairs, never would he have guessed what really happened. He turned around and saw Tom still grasping the legs of the chair he had brought down on Richard's head, glaring at the fallen man menacingly.

"Tom?" Alex said, highly surprised. It appeared that the fire alarm had stopped, and they could speak normally once again.

The class was equally stunned. Tom was normally so quiet and reserved, save for when he was around Alex.

Tom brought his black haired head up to meet his friends gaze and smiled widely, he didn't know where he had gotten the courage to do what he did, but he was glad for it.

"Tom, that was awesome!," both boys continued to smile.

It was a crackling clearing of the throat that brought their attention to the lone figure that still stood in front of the class.

There was still one man to go.

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**sorry for ANOTHER cliffy...i think the kid in the back wants to kill me...anyway...how was it? R&R please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**SOOOO sorry this is late! I was having a bad case of writers block (which is why this chapters not the best) and homework, then there was me just being lazy...yeah...I'm going to stop babbling now... **:D

**thanks again for everyone who favorites and stuff! And all the readers! THANKS!**

**I literally just wrote this chapter...i hope you like/love it! :D**

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Last time...

_ It was a crackling clearing of the throat that brought their attention to the lone figure that still stood in front of the class._

_ There was still one man to go._

David stood there glaring at the two boys with pure annoyance. Alex would have thought hate, but the look on his face was clearly annoyance, that confused him a bit. He _had _after all just knocked out four of his men. Well, technically three, Tom had knocked out the fourth, but still.

"You, Alex Rider, are turning out to be a major annoyance, ya' know that? You are definitely John's son alright. Your whole family was an annoyance, but three down, one to go."

The way he said it so passively made Alex cringe.

_How can he think of it like a game?_ He thought.

"Ya' know, if you hadn't gone undercover like you did, Scorpia wouldn't have even bothered you. You weren't bothering them, but you just had to infiltrate them. You weren't even on a mission, you were doing everything on your own"

The English class, now less tense with only one man, and four on the floor, gaped at the man. When he said _gone undercover_,_ infiltrate, _and _misson_, it hadn't just gone over their heads like the stuff Mr. Young taught them, they were interested and were hanging on every word.

Tom knew about all of this, but hearing it from someone else brought out a new perspective, so he was listening intently as much as everyone else.

David continued.

"I hope you know Julia Rothman knew who you were, the whole time. She knew Nile put you in the basement, it was a test, though she was pleased when you didn't drown," he drawled on.

"I gathered that, though her knowing who I was made it a lot easier to get into Scorpia."

"Hmm. I'm sure, but she always did have a soft spot for your father. I'm sure she told you herself. He was a good assassin too, mind you."

"He _wasn't_ an assassin, he was undercover."

"Yes, but he killed people."

The class drew in a breath. Tom didn't. Alex had told him everything that had happened with his father. He's been surprised at first, but he saw the reasoning behind it.

"Only criminals, either way, he was doing his job."

"Oh, but it was so much fun to watch you squirm. One minute thinking your father was an assassin, then was killed by the very people you work for, then trying to get revenge, only to be turned around again, and on the right track. Then at the end, you being shot. That was genius! I still can't believe you survived. No one gets away from Scorpia. I heard about it all, that was some fake death by the way, looked very real!" His Irish accent carried the words smoothly out of his mouth, almost making him seem human.

_Fake death? Shot? No one survived?_, was pretty much the only thing going through the students minds', each thought making them wonder _what in the world is going on!_

"Thanks, now are you going to fight? Or are you going to come quietly?" Alex asked, he was getting really annoyed that this man was dragging out one of the most important parts of Alex's life in front of his English class, and talking about it like it was some big game.

"Neither, thanks. I'm not particularly fond of prison food, I think I'll hit a nice cafe on my way out!" David said.

Alex was confused for a minute. _What?_

Then he noticed a cord go slack, a cord that was attached to the man's waist. His jumper cable.

Alex pieced together what was going on. David had drawled out his life story to buy time. While he had been talking on and on and on, he had also been attaching his jumper cord to his belt. Alex had seen him fidgeting, but who didn't get nervous when they were about to be arrested? He had thought it was just nerves or something.

_Stupid_, Alex mentally scolded himself for his mistake.

"Well, I'll see you around kid, next time I won't go so easy on you." David growled out. He stared at Alex with anger now, finally showing that he was capable of something other then making a game out of everything.

He then turned to the class.

"By kids, I hope you liked my little presentation!" David said, his mood suddenly changing from one to anger to one of cheeriness.

The whirring noise from the helicopter could still be heard, but it was getting louder. They soon saw why.

The helicopter was pretty much hovering above the window outside the classroom.

"Wait!" Alex called.

It was too late, David spun on his heel, crushing the glass beneath his feet, and _jumped_ out the window. Alex rushed over, slipping on the broken glass. He caught himself on one of the desks as he went skidding as if he was in mud. The desks' legs squealed in protest to the sudden pressure.

The helicopter flew away, slowly, waiting for its sole member to board. David climbed up his rope and into the body of the swaying helicopter

The class slowly broke up from the tight group they were in and took a step or two away from the wall. Tom walked over to Alex.

"He's gone Alex." Tom said, calmingly.

"I know." Alex replied, he was mad that David had gotten away, but he wasn't going to take it out on his friend. He would take it out on MI6 taker for being late.

He was still sore from the fight, and it still hurt to breath. The pain was making itself known now that the adrenaline was wearing off. It was definitely making itself known.

Alex stared out after the helicopter, watching it grow smaller and smaller as it flew.

Then he turned around to face his class.

They were openly staring at him. Well, him, and the helicopter that you could still see in the distance.

He looked right back at them. Tom came up and stood next to Alex.

"Are you ok?" He asked. "You look pretty beat up." Tom let out a quiet laugh at the last comment, making Alex laugh in return, finally drawing his attention away from the class, all of whom were still staring.

_Well, that's kinda rude, but I guess I can't blame 'em. _Alex though. He'd cut them some slack, I mean it isn't everyday you find out the guy you _thought_ was a druggie turned out to be a spy, fighting bad guys on a daily basis.

"I'm fine." Alex replied, though after he said it, he swayed on his feet. His legs felt like jello after everything that had happened.

"No, your not." Tom said, suddenly serious. He took Alex's arm and draped it around his shoulder, even that hurt. Alex gasped a bit.

"It's not just the rib is it?" Tom continued, he had quieted down to a whisper.

"No, the 'paintballing' wound is a bit sore," he whispered back. They both knew he was dumbing it down. If it was sore, it hurt, badly. Turns out when you kick a guy in the ribs it upsets the bullet wound they have over their heart.

Alex was seeing black spots again, but that was nothing compared to the headache he was getting.

Alex started to blink furiously, trying to clear his blurring vision.

Tom was saying something in his ear, something about going to a hospital, but Alex didn't register everything.

The class was worried about their friend of course, they could see he was hurt, but none went over to help. Quite frankly, they were a bit nervous to be around him, he _had_ saved their lives, but that didn't mean they weren't still nervous.

Suddenly, the classroom door opened with a loud bang, and the class screamed. The abrupt noise only upsetting Alex's growing headache even more. Tom was talking again, this time to the class, trying to reassure the class, again he didn't register everything. He knew something was wrong, and he knew it was only moment before he blacked out.

His legs finally gave out on him and he sunk to the floor, even against Tom's unwillingness to let him fall. His head roared as his blood pulsed through it. He registered one more thing, something that seemed oddly out of place before he knew no more.

"Cub!"

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**I hope that wasn't too confusing! So, did you like it? love it? i must know! REVIEW! Yes, a lot of you guessed it...K-Unit is making an appearance! YAY! everyone loves them! anyway, haven't planned out the next chapter yet...so IDEAS ARE COMPLETELY WELCOME! i need ideas! Again...PLEASE R&R! i love reviews! thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**HERE WE GO! the long awaited chapter with K-Unit! YAY! sorry it took so long to write this! I had writers block..:( anyway, i hope you like it! everyone was pretty easy to write based on looks, except for Eagle, I couldn't find anything about what he looked like, so...yeah...anyway, i just wrote this so sorry for any grammatical errors! I will defiantly try to update sooner! And onto the next chapter...**

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Last time...

_His legs finally gave out on him and he sunk to the floor, even against Tom's unwillingness to let him fall. His head roared as his blood pulsed through it. He registered one more thing, something that seemed oddly out of place before he knew no more._

_ "Cub!"_

The classroom door burst open, slamming against the whitewashed wall behind it. Four men rushed in, totting handguns, waving them around the area of the room. The class screamed in fright. Understandably so since a hired assassin just tried to kidnap one of their friends, and these guys were waving around guns! Tom absently wondered why the first group of men hadn't had guns, but pushed it to the back of his mind.

_One crisis at a time!_ Tom though annoyed.

Tom saw Alex grasp his head subconsciously out of the corner of his eye since his vision was fixed on the four most recent intruders. He could only imagine the kind of headache Alex must have after being kicked in the temple, then the class screaming like a bunch of girls who just had their purses stolen.

The men looked around and saw that there were four other men lying strewn around the room. They were all unconscious, anyone could see that.

So, the men, seeing that there was no immediate danger, put their guns in their respective holsters. The class was still freaking out. _They're all in shock. _Tom thought, he was still annoyed that about how they were acting considering these guys were obviously the good guys.

"It's ok, we're MI6!" A man called out, he was in the front of the group called out, Tom imagined him as the leader. He was short, and had short black hair.

"It's ok, these are the good guys!" Tom called out, facing the class now. He still had Alexs' are draped over his shoulder, which made turning faintly awkward.

The men turned to him, as if noticing him for the first time. The leader gave them a nod, as if confirming what Tom had said.

It was then that Alex's' legs gave out. Tom felt the sudden shift in his friends weight as he slid to the glass-strewn floor. Tom tried to hold him up, but he wasn't very good at carrying dead weight. He moved his hand on his friend's shoulder to the small of his back, trying to set him down gently. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold him up any longer, but he didn't want him to just hit the floor, especially with all the shards of glass still making their home on the floor. He wasn't very successful as Alex still went crashing onto the ground.

"Cub!", was shouted by the leader, followed by two of the other men. The last one actually called him 'Alex.'

All four men rushed over the their fallen comrade.

A thin, blonde haired men knelt in front of the other three, pulling a bag from behind him and opening it, revealing an assortment of first aid supplies.

"What happened?" He asked with a Scottish accent, already examining Alex's condition.

"Um, some guys came in and tried to kidnap him, but he fought them," was Tom';s only response.

"Do you know who it was?" The 'leader' asked this time.

"Scor-, wait, who are you guys in the first place? And how do you know Alex?" It was Tom's turn for some answers, and with everything that had happened, he thought he deserved some.

The leader looked slightly annoyed that the schoolboy sounded so demanding. Regardless, he held out his hand. Tom did the same, and they shook.

"Wolf, sorry, can't tell you my real name, classified." He said, slightly smug when he said 'classified.'

"Eagle." The man immediately to his right said, raising his hand slightly. The man tending to Alex was directly in front of him, so he couldn't reach out to shake Toms hand. He had short brown hair with an accent that could have been from anywhere.

"Snake." Said the man directly in front of him, tending to Alex, said, distracted. He took off his jacket jerkily, and scrunched it up, laying it under Alex's' head, protecting his head from the glass on the floor, while grasping Alex's eyelids. Then taking out a pen light and checking his eyes. Tom was still holding onto Alex's arm and his shoulder.

"Um, Fox, but call me Ben." The last man said, he had dark, calming eyes, with black hair.

"Fox!" Wolf called out, with faked exasperation.

"What? Its not like he knows who we are, and Alex already knows my real name!"

Wolf just rolled his eyes and turned back to Alex and Snake, who was now trying to clean the blood off of Alex's face.

Ben had told them about his association with Alex on the mission in Bangkok. He'd been shot, and had shot Alex's godfather, Ash, after it was revealed that he was working for Scorpia trying to get revenge on Alex, as reluctant as Ash was to do that, he still did. He had also planted the bomb on Alex's parents' plane, killing them. He regretted it, but only after the fact.

Ben had also saved Alex's life after one member of the Sukits, a gang group in Bangkok, tried shooting Alex. He had also rescued Alex from Bill Tanners 'hospital' in the Australian jungle after Alex himself had made a shoddy, but brave and clever escape.

Yes, they had history, and the group didn't take the Official Secrets Act as gospel. They were too close for that. There had been tension when Alex first joined but that soon evaporated. They hadn't had much contact, with their estranged last member especially, but they kept in touch. They also all knew each other's' real names, but had grown fond of their respective codenames.

They all saw a flicker of recognition behind Tom's eyes as he recognized the group.

"I'm Tom. You're K-Unit, right?" Tom said confidently.

They all looked at Tom, trying not to look surprised. Even Snake glanced at Tom as he tended diligently to Alex, checking his breathing, pulse, and circulation.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Fox/Ben asked, his accent suggested he came from Liverpool.

Tom just nodded to Alex.

"Let's just say he doesn't do everything MI6 tells him to, namely not telling his best friend what the heck is going on when he disappears off the face of the planet for months." He said, each member of the group could hear the fondness in his voice for Alex.

Wolf chuckled, shortly followed by the rest of the group. It was just like Alex to go behind Blunts back, maybe just to spite him. Wolf gave Tom another nod, this time with more respect. The others looked at him with grateful eyes. They all could only imagine what Alex, a sixteen year old_ kid_, was going through emotionally when he went on these missions. They had all been on missions, but never as a teenager! They were relieved and glad that Alex had someone in his own world that was there for him.

"His breathing is off, sounds like a broken rib or two." Snake said to the wayward group. "Tom, help me pull up his shirt."

So Tom moved Alex's arm off of his stomach and onto the floor, resting by his side, and grabbed the smooth material of Alex's shirt. Snake did the same, and slowly they tugged the shirt up. Alex sucked in a sharp breath, even in his unconscious state feeling the pain from the smooth movement.

They lifted his shirt to reveal a massive bruise on his left side. It was blue, black, purple, and swollen. It was the group's turn to suck in a breath, and suck in a breath they were all different kinds of cuts on his exposed chest, from previous fights, going by the white scar they had left behind, then more recent ones, that were bleeding out. Snake guessed that some glass had caught on the offenders boot when they had assaulted Alex.

Then they saw what they could only be described as a bullet wound. They all had seen bullet wounds. Ben had one on his leg! But this was only _just_ above his heart. They were all fuming and exasperated and worried at the same time. It has happened a while back based on the scarring, but still! Who would shoot, and try to _kill_ a teenager! Their friend!

"Geez, what happened?" Snake whispered to no one in particular, he had treated things like this before but not on a kid. Not on his friend. He began to poke and prod at his friend's side, examining his ribs when a small voice whispered an answer from the floor.

"Scorpia."

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**So..how was it..i know i ask that every chapter, but kind fo a habit now i guess...:D so please reveiw! reviews help me write faster! also, thanks to all the regular reviewers...(you know who you are...)! so thanks! will try to update within the next few days, but not sure because of school *rolls eyes* (stupid school!) so..yes...see u next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's chapter 7! It's even up earlier than my last update...(that made total sense..) but anyway...thanks to everyone who favorited/reviewed/ and story alerted! always encouraging! **

**anyways..i hope you like the next chapter! R&R please!**

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Last time...

_"Geez, what happened?" Snake whispered to no one in particular, he had treated things like this before but not on a kid. Not on his friend. He began to poke and prod at his friend's side, examining his ribs when a small voice whispered an answer from the floor._

"_Scorpia."_

Alex groaned as he returned to the land of the living. The harsh white light making his head hurt. He quickly took in his surroundings as he had learned to do on missions. On his right was Tom, looking down at him with a very concerned look, there was also relief in his eyes. On his right was a few men he hadn't seen in a while, the one in front was Snake, he pretty much had on the same expression as Tom, just slightly less concerned. He knew Alex's' condition, and knew he would be alright. Behind Snake were Wolf, the man who he had pushed out of a plane while training, he silently laughed at the memory, Eagle, and Fox, also known as Ben. His mind quickly went through the last time he had seen him, and it hadn't been under the best conditions.

_Is this the only time we're ever gonna see each other? When there's something wrong?_ Alex thought glumly

All of them just looked at Alex waiting for him to make a move, but Snake was faster, no puns to his name.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Snake said happily.

"Yeah, great!" He answered back, completely sarcastic. His head still hurt, not to mention his entire torso!

"How'd you feel?" Wolf said, fondness seeping through.

"Like I was hit in the head with a sledgehammer. Any more questions before my brain explodes?" Alex said, he shut his eyes against the piercing light. Apparently it looked like he was about to fall asleep because Snake was right there talking again.

"No, none of that." He said, his accent putting an emphasis on 'th.' "Wolf bring that chair over here."

Normally Wolf was the person barking orders, but when it came to the care of his patients, Snake instantly became boss.

Wolf did as he was told and quickly brought a chair, setting it a few feet behind Alexs' still form.

"Tom, can you help me get him into it?"

"Sure." Tome replied, though wary. He wasn't sure if Alex should be moved with the condition he was in, but Snake seemed an amicable doctor, so he trusted him.

"Oh, come on, can't I just sleep?" Alex complained from the floor, his chest tight and breath coming fast because of the broken rib.

"Not when you have two broken ribs and a slight concussion." Snake shot back, good-naturedly.

Alex crumbled something out under his breath, but didn't complain when Snake and Tom both put their arms around his bicep and pulled. He tried to hold in the gasp of shooting pain, but it didn't work very well, the unwelcome noise escaping between his lips.

They set him in the chair, where he promptly slouched, too tired to willingly sit up straight. Wolf was standing behind him now, and Ben and Eagle had made there was over as well. Tom stood at his right side, whilst he had Snake on his left, who was once again looking at his head.

On his extreme right, the class was staring at the exchange between Alex and the men. They learned that they knew each other, obviously, and Alex had gone on previous missions, where he had also gotten injured, they learned that the scar on his chest was, in fact, a bullet wound and not a paintballing accident, and they learned that Alex was definitely involved with Scorpia, and judging by what had happened in the last half hour, and what had apparently happened in the past, they were out for revenge. They were all silent, lost in their own thoughts as they contemplated what _ in the world_ had just happened exactly.

Wolf grinned slightly at the class then turned to Tom, Alex still otherwise busy being examined by Snake, who was now wrapping Alexs' temple in an attempt to stem the blood flow. Pulling him up in the chair had reopened the gash.

"So, what do they think Alex has been doing when he's gone?" He said, amused.

Alex glanced up, well as much as he could, at Wolf and just rolled his eyes.

Tom's expression turned a bit darker as he looked at the class.

"They all thought he was a druggie, getting into trouble all the time."

"What?" Wolf replied, obviously mad.

He gave the class a stern glare through squinted black eyes.

They had the decency to look sheepish, and to take a step back, for their own health, they reasoned.

"Well, they were right about the 'always getting into trouble' bit." Alex offered, trying to settle the suddenly tense atmosphere.

Even Mr. Young looked abashed. The class turned to each other, apparently knocked from their silent stupor, and started whispering to each other.

Wolf decided to let it go and turned his attention back to Alex.

Snake walked over to his pack a few steps away and brought something out of the front pocket, along with a water bottle that had been in the side.

"Here, take these." He handed Alex both items, the former Alex identified as Aspirin. Alex smiled and swallowed two pills, downing the water in one.

"Now for the harder bit." Snake said, he returned to his pack, this time to grab the medical kit he had left there before they had moved Alex.

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

Snake pointed to Alex's torso, obviously meaning his ribs.

"Oh, lucky me." Alex groaned. He just wanted a nap and food.

Snake came over bearing gause and some container that looked like it held purple jelly.

"Tom, can you take off his shirt?" Snake asked nonchalantly.

"Sorry Alex, doctor's orders!" Tom said, he grabbed the hem of Alex's shirt and slowly pulled up, not wanting to aggravate the wound more. Alex gasped once more as the shirt slid off his ribs, making them sting. He could feel the blood pulsating through them, annoyed at his upright position.

"Yeah, yeah, and if Snake told you to jump off a bridge would you?" Alex questioned. Their usual banter was starting up again, and Alex couldn't help but grin.

Tom didn't deign to answer, instead just laughing. Ben joined in, as well as Snake. Eagle and Wolf, the more 'mature' of the group, were just left exchanging a glance at each other and rolling their eyes, while grinning slightly.

Their attention was then turned back to Alex's chest and the swollen skin on it.

"Geez Alex, you really took a hit, didn't you?" Snake said, whistling through his teeth.

Alex just rolled his eyes. "Let's see you fight two guys from opposite sides who _both _know karate _and _are _twice_ as big as you!"

"Well, we're not all as good as the Great Alex Rider!" Ben teased, laughing.

Alex just grinned and attempted to puff out his chest, which didn't work so well all things considered. Alex just ended up slouching more in his chair for his effort.

Snake started smearing purple goo over Alex's ribs, Alex flinched.

"Geez, thats cold!" He excaimed.

"Well, its not exactly a heating pad Cub. Its one if Smithy's new 'inventions', suppose to help heal wounded ribs twice as fast. Apparently, it's coming in handy, now isn't it?" Snake said, patronizingly.

"Hmm...great." Alex responded. He was about to say 'just Alex' then thought about how fond he was of his codename, it said he was included in the group.

When Snake was done with the goo, Alex did truly feel a bit better, his ribs hurt less, and it was easier to breath. He would need to thank Smithers later. His head felt considerably lighter and the light didn't hurt his eyes, for that he thanked the Aspirin. He straightened up in his chair when Snake, assisted by Tom started to wrap the gauze around his chest. Then Tom threw Alex shirt over his head, and helped him get his head through its hole as well as his arms. Tom pulled his shirt down, with Alex muttering a 'thanks' through the fabric of the shirt, all the while the remaining members of K-Unit watching with amusement, smiling fondly at the two friends.

Snake was just about to make, no doubt, some clever comment, when the door was once again opened, this time with less welcome occupants.

Mr. Blunt, head of MI6 and Mrs. Jones, deputy head of MI6.

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**i know...another cliffhanger! YAY! *please don't kill me!* i think there's just one more chapter after this one! **

**but...i need your guy's opinion...i was told that I should write a sequel to this...involving Alex, and K-Unit (possibly Tom) all going on the mission described at the beginning of the story...what do you think? I NEED TO KNOW! so please message me about it! also message me if you have ANY ideas about a sequel period!**

**also...im currently planning a Sherlock one-shot, and a Merlin one-shot...YAY! so yes...:D**


	8. Chapter 8

**HII! i know, two updates in one day...im crazy! but the truth is, i've been feeling rather creative today, and decided to treat you guys just cause your that awesome! *anyone who reviews is extra awesome!* anywho...this chapter is the longest (by like 100 words) chapter i've written! YAY! **

**You will see ranting...it will be fun! *special thanks to Fallenqueen2 for ideas for the rant!* she had great ideas, funny too! you'll have to read to find out!**

**anyway, enough babbling read the story!**

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Last time...

_ Snake was just about to make, no doubt, some clever comment, when the door was once again opened, this time with less welcome occupants._

_ Mr. Blunt, head of MI6 and Mrs. Jones, deputy head of MI6._

The door opened, revealing the two heads of MI6. They walked less than gracefully through the threshold of the door, Mrs. Jones obviously sucking on a peppermint, rolling it around in her mouth whilst she assessed the room. She wore a knee length, tight black skirt, a white blouse, and a silk gray jacket, her black hair was tied in a tight bun on the back of her head. She held a manila folder in front of her, offset from her colorless garb.

Ironically, the drab clothes actually complimented her companion, who was the epitome of grey. Mr. Blunt could win an award for the greyest person in all of England. Grey hair, grey, lifeless eyes, grey suit, grey _skin. _The only thing that wasn't grey was his shirt, which was white, but was mostly hidden from view by his grey jacket. Even the frame of his glasses were grey!

His piercing grey eyes roved about the room while K-Unit stood at attention, even Tom stood straighter and faced the two, copying the movements from K-Unit.

Alex got up and did the same, standing next to Tom, but by no means standing up straight. He wasn't exactly fond of either of the two, Mr. Blunt coming in dead last, and frankly, his ribs still hurt, so he didn't think he could stand up straight if he wanted to. He felt slightly light headed from the slow movement, all the blood rushing out of his head.

_Stupid gravity_, he thought.

Another man followed behind the two as they stepped over the threshold of the classrooms' brown door. Alex recognised him as Crawley. He was a more likeable character, actually regretful after the death of Ian Rider, Alex's uncle, and in his getting involved at all, but still not Alex's favorite man. He wore a black suit with a black tie with a gold tie clip. Crawley sidestepped Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones, muttering what sounded like 'excuse me' and entered the room with several other people that Alex didn't recognized, they were dressed more casually in uniforms that looked similar to a policeman's, but not the same exactly. Crawley nodded at Alex, acknowledging his presence. Alex nodded back, and that was the end of the exchange between the two.

"Check those guys out!" Crawley said, pointing to the four still unconscious men on the floor.

The men behind him brushed past Crawley and K-Unit and check the individual men on the floor. The man closest to them, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, looked up at the group still standing at attention, and then back down at the man he was examining.

"What happened to this guy? He has a giant goose egg on the back of his head!" He exclaimed, once again looking back at the group.

Tom blushed while Alex put his hand on his friend's shoulder, half to steady himself, he was quite dizzy from standing up, and half to acknowledge his friends deed. Tom gave him a worried look when Alex's eyes became unfocused for a second, but he got his bearings back quickly so Tom left it at that.

"Oh, nothing, Tom just hit him upside the head with a chair before he could attack me," Alex drawled out casually, sounding like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Tom blushed even more when the man raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at him. Snake and Ben broke their blank forms and started giggling, though trying to hold it back. Eagle was fighting back a grin, and if Wolf was holding anything back, he couldn't tell. Alex laughed outright at the look on both his friends face, and the two members of K-Unit as they tried to stifle their giggles.

Mr. Blunt raised his eyebrow, the center of it becoming pointy. Alex laughed at that too.

Mrs. Jones gave Alex a small smile. She had defended Alex on several missions, meaning she didn't think he should go on them at all, she had also wanted to tell Alex about Yassen and his father in the first place, but as per usual, Blunt held her back, wanting to withhold information from Alex yet again unless 'absolutely necessary.' So Alex gave her a polite smile in return, he had to admit that she was probably his only ally when it came to what missions he would and would not be going on. She was probably the reason he didn't _live _at MI6.

"At ease. This isn't Brecon Beacons." Mr. Blunt barked out, facing K-Unit. His English accent making it come out smoothly yet harshly at the same time.

Instantly K-Unit slouched back into their usual form, Tom let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and Alex hastily sat back down in his chair, the room spinning again. Tom looked at him, concerned, Alex' face was paler than usual, but Alex just closed his eyes, took deep breaths through the nose, and tried to get his bearings back.

The men checking out the unconscious forms on the floor reported back to Crawley who took in their assessments.

"This one's unconscious, no serious injuries."

"Same here."

"And here."

"Here too, except for the bump, he could have a concussion."

Tom looked rather guilty at that and turned away. Alex just smirked at Tom.

Some more men had come in and was talking to the class, this time dressed in suits, calming them down a bit and trying to keep them quiet.

Mr. Blunt walked over towards Alex, Tom and K-Unit, Mrs. Jones following respectfully a few steps behind, and stopped in front of Alex, who was sitting sideways in a chair, gripping the backing, twisted slightly to face Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones.

"Well, Alex, it looks like you got yourself in a bit of trouble here." He drawled out, obviously annoyed at his having to come down to the school in the first place.

If Alex had harboured any resentment against Blunt, it multiplied ten times over at his words. He stood up again, where he was hit with a wave of light-headedness and dizziness, but he ignored it, instead taking a deep breath, making for a reply.

"_What!_ You think I just have a neon sign on my back that says 'Hey, here's Alex, the guy you want to kill?'" Alex shot back, indignantly.

"Well consid-," Blunt started, but Alex wasn't done with _his _rant.

"Ya' know, if I _wanted_ to be beaten up, I would have joined MI6 willingly! But _no_! You have to send me on these _suicide_ missions where, when I beat the bad guy, they come back from revenge! And that _surprises_ you? Are you _kidding me_? I thought you were meant to be keeping me safe when I'm off missions? You know, like _making sure this kind of thing never happens_! You're standing here saying _I'm_ the trouble magnet! Who got me into this in the first place? Who sent me on my first mission? Hmm? I _called_ for backup! Which, by the way, that reminds me..._where the heck were you guys? _I called right after those stupid guys smashed through the window, which I assume you will be paying for because it's pretty much your fault those idiots came after me anyway! And the notorious MI6 turns up late! What happened? This is a _school_ you know! It could have been more urgent! They might have actually brought _guns! _What, did you want to finish your tea first, before it got cold? I could have been killed! They used the class as _hostages_ so I couldn't resist whatever the heck they had planned, and they were trying to kidnap me! Not to mention them blowing up my whole life in from of my class! The guy had a manila folder as thick as your head apparently. Talk about show and tell! Sorry if I seem a bit mad that my _backup_ didn't show up on time! And I am _not_ blaming Smithers gadgets!" Alex was fuming, his face pinkish, as blood once again pulsed through his veins eagerly, and his breath coming fast, though if that was from trying to say his entire speech in one breath, or because of his broken ribs, no one could tell.

All eyes in the room were facing Alex. They all heard his first outburst, and when he had interrupted Blunt, an unspeakable act at MI6, all eyes had turned. No one cared for the men knocked out on the floor, the class had stopped whispering, the men in suits that had come in were turned around gaping at Alex like a fish! No one ever dared speak to Mr. Blunt like that, even if they desired so, and many had.

Tom had his mouth hanging open gazing at Alex in outright surprise. He had never heard Alex rant like _that_. He was usually calm, until MI6 came up, then he was mad at best, but he had never raised his voice.

K-Unit had much of the same expressions on their faces as Tom had. Ben, though, was holding back a proud grin. Alex had told him how mad he was at MI6 for all of this. Ben felt much the same. Who would send out a sixteen year old on suicide missions, for what? The sake of her majesty's crown? The royal jewels? Those were just excused these days. Blunt just needed 'information' half the time, and sent Alex on the missions, that quote 'no normal spy would be able to complete, because no one would suspect a child.' And child was right! And it just so happens that every mission 'that no adult could ever manage' just happened to be suicide missions! He was proud that Alex actually voiced his feelings! And he loved the part about the tea, mainly because it was probably true. He could imagine Blunt at his desk and Mrs. J coming in, 'Sir, we got an alarm from Alex for immediate backup,' then him replying, 'Oh, he'll be fine for a few more minutes, I just got my tea and crumpets, there'd be no use letting them go to waste,' then Mrs. Jones would probably object, but Blunt would have her go do something whilst he finished his afternoon snack.

The class was staring at him with a mixture of awe and wonder. Awe at how how could speak so bluntly, no pun intended, at a superior, who was obviously a very important man in all this spy business. And the wonderment for the same reason. Again, they learned new things, things like 'suicide missions,' he hadn't joined willingly, though that was inferred earlier, and he got gadgets. The last thought in the heads of more boys than girls. They all tucked this new information in their brains to be processed later, they wanted to hear what was coming next.

Mrs. Jones kept a blank face. Mastered from years of making decisions that would break a normal person. In fact, she had been expecting this. She had told Blunt not to be giving Alex lectures that he wouldn't listen to anyway, and instead listen to Alex himself more. He wasn't a legal spy, he wasn't even legally of age yet, but he still had to put up with Blunts' insufferableness!

He hadn't always been like this though, Mrs. Jones knew. The two had been working together for a long time. No, this careless, thoughtless demeanor had come from seeing too many men die, and having the weight of the country on his shoulders. The prime minister didn't even listen to him sometimes, even when he was proved to be right. Alex's first mission with the Stormbreaker computers had proved that.

But she was still irked that Blunt would lecture Alex at all, considering all that had happened to him these past few years, Alex didn't need lectures, he needed support, not rants. She was secretly glad that Alex had confided in Tom. Of course, she knew all about that. Blunt had had Alex's locker and phone bugged for that exact reason. Though with a few sharp words from her, he let it be and didn't confront Alex or Tom about his sharing knowledge with people, 'civilians at that!' he had said. Though he wouldn't let go about keeping the bug in his locker.

She had a soft spot for Alex that anyone could see, though only Alex and Blunt knew the reason behind it. Her own two children would have been around Alex's age, had they still been alive. Only Blunt knew the real story behind it, and she had never told anyone else. But-

As her past came back to haunt her, she quickly pulled herself out of her memories and focused on what was happening right in front of her.

Blunts face was blank as well, Alex could clearly see that. He wouldn't get any facial expression out of him, Alex knew. Well, except his eyebrows were slightly kneaded together. Alex took that as a small accomplishment, even if it was only a small reaction, Alex relished the feeling of actually having unhinged Blunt from his calm demeanor.

So as the ruined English class, Crawley, the other MI6 operatives, Tom, K-Unit, and Mrs. Jones, all stared on with bated breath and gaping mouths as Blunt took a breath to reply.

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**sorry for another cliffhanger! i need to go to bed and thought this a good point in the story to stop! anyway, please R&R! i always appreciate reviews! oh, i lied...this isn't the last chapter...i thnk there will be one or two more,...then en eprolouge or something leading into the sequel, if there is one...think there will be...PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE ON WHAT YOU THINK OF A SEQUEL! so far i've got K-Unit, Tom and Alex all going on a mission, probably the one decribed at the beginning of the story!**

**if you have any other ideas message me..just tell me in the review! thanks!i eagerly await your messeges! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**HEYY! yeah, sorry this is late...my wi-fi decided to crash last night...but heres the next chapter! Check out my new story too! Its called 'What happens'..! **

**Oh, yes, i forgot to post this on any of my other others, but this one happens sometime _after _Snakehead, but before the one after that... Crocodile Tears?**

**Also...I don't own Alex Rider...at all...:P**

**As usual..please R&R! :D**

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Last time...

_So as the ruined English class, Crawley, the other MI6 operatives, Tom, K-Unit, and Mrs. Jones, all stared on with bated breath and gaping mouths as Blunt took a breath to reply._

"Well, Alex, you're wrong. We were not late because I wanted to finish my afternoon snack, which was very good, by the way, we were late because we had to get permission to _break into _the school." Blunt stated, his demeanor not changing from his uniform act.

"What? You need _permission_ to _break in_ to school? Doesn't asking permission kind of defeat the purpose of breaking in?" Alex asked. Tom rolled his eyes, though not while looking at Mr. Blunt.

"Well, the prime minister doesn't take too kindly to you being a spy," Alex mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'neither do I,' but Blunt carried on, "so he didn't consider you a accurate informant. It wasn't until a few minutes ago that we got confirmation that we were allowed because Mrs. Jones put in a few strongly worded arguments, from there we called in K-Unit, who were on a mission in Scotland and high-jacket the school's cameras and saw everything that was happening in this room, then noticing how tense everything was, decided to give you a distraction - setting off the fire alarm - which worked quite nicely I must say. We directed K-Unit directly here, giving them their supplies after they had arrived,though they didn't know what was happening. All they knew was that you were in danger, along with your fellow classmates, and agreed to take the lead. Everyone else is from headquarters."

Alex was about to interject, but Blunt cut him off again, answering his question for him

"Yes Alex, we saw the helicopter. Unfortunately, ours is in the shop for modifications, in other words, Smithers has it, so he got away. We're attempting to track its movements, but Smithers is updating our software. And yes, we know who it was that sent them. And yes, we know who 'David' is." He finished, leaving Alex with only one question.

"How'd you know his name was David?"

"Alex, the camera's do have microphones in them you know, we heard everything." He finished. If Alex hadn't known better, he would have said that Blunt looked smug, but this was Blunt, emotionless, plain Blunt.

The class was still gazing at the two of them, everyone else had gathered some of their wits and were just throwing them glances every now and then.

Alex turned to the class, and saw Crawley open the folder that one of the other men had handed him. It was stacked with white paper, Crawley took them out and started handing them out to every student, save for Alex and Tom who weren't in the group.

"Fine, you win." Alex grumbled out. "What about the class, what are those?" He asked, nodding to the class.

"Official Secrets Act Alex, you should know this by now. We can't have your little secret revealed to the whole country just yet. It wouldn't bring the element of surprise to the table. Anyway, they'll each sign them, promising not to talk about what happened today. We'll make up a cover story, 'there was a gas leak in the classroom, while Mr. Youngs' English class was outside,' or something like that."

Alex was rather annoyed that Blunt was taking this so calmly, but he guessed that after a lifetime (how long had Blunt worked for MI6?) of situations like these, a man got used to them, expected them even.

"Fine. What do you know about David?" Alex questioned. Blunt seemed to know everything today, and while Alex wasn't normally the one asking questions, Alex liked the switch.

Mr. Blunt turned to Mrs. Jones and nodded his head, indicating her time to take over. She slipped another peppermint into her mouth, stepping forward, and bringing the manila folder she had had in her hand out and opening it up, more for Alex's' benefit than hers. Alex thought she had probably memorized each file in there already.

"'David' as he called himself, is known by many names, Alex, 'David Johnson' just being one of them. He is also known as 'Matt Brown,' ''Arthur Lindenhall,' 'Josh Smith, and then just 'The Assassin.' He's an assassin for hire, and has been known to work for Scorpia on several occasions." Mrs. Jones said.

"Wonderful." Alex muttered to himself, though Tom heard it, as he was still standing right next to him. Then Alex sat back in the chair, the adrenaline from his previous outburst gone, leaving him once again tired. K-Unit looked at him in concern, while Alex looked at his hands which were grasped onto the back of the chair.

"What was he talking about when he said he kidnapped my mother?" Alex said sadly. Tom reached out and put his hand on Alex's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze, reminding him that he was there for him as usual. Alex looked up and met Tom's eyes and nodded, smiling sadly as he remembered all the other times when Tom had helped him through something. Wolf, Eagle, Fox, and Snake looked at Alex sadly as he turned his attention back to Mrs. Jones.

The class was only half paying attention as their sheets of paper were explained to them in detail

Mrs. Jones thought it was time to know about that part of his parents lives, it was on a need to know basis, but she thought that it Alex did need to know, if only to reassure him. So despite Mr. Blunts subtle shake of his head, she started to explain.

"He kidnapped Helen a few years before you were born, about a year into your parents marriage. He left a note saying she wouldn't be hurt if John and Ian turned themselves in, they were allowed to bring backup, but it had to be a fair trade. They came to us for help. So as a favor to your father, I arranged the trade. I asked Smithers to arrange a few gadgets that could be easily hidden on their person, and we drove out to meet him at an abandoned warehouse on the Thames. It went down smoothly, John and Ian were traded for Helen after they had a little reunion in the middle. I escorted Helen to a car. We were friends until-. Well, I know you don't remember her Alex, but she really was a great woman, very brave, very courageous, and very beautiful." She ended softly.

Alex gave her a smile. He didn't remember her, it was true, but he had seen pictures of her in his uncle's' pictured. She was beautiful. With hair the same color as Alex's and blue eyes, and a bright, ever optimistic smile. He could easily picture her as brave and courageous.

"Anyway," continued, "I escorted Helen to the car and debriefed her. True to his word, David hadn't touched her, all he wanted were John and Ian. He took them to another warehouse down the river, we knew because we put a tracer in both of their pockets in case they were separated, but we managed to follow them, Helen stayed behind with me as my assistant took over the mission. They were able to create a distraction long enough for John and Ian to escape, then meet Helen and I back at the van. And that was the end of it. David got away, and ever since then, he's had a kind of vengeance against your family. Sorry."

Alex nodded at her, imagining what had happened in his mind. He could picture his father and uncle escaping the warehouse. The story cleared everything up considering why David had a vengeance against him. Not that Scorpia was helping. A grudge from one assassin plus about a dozen grudges from a top-gear organization was bad, worse than bad, and Alex had it. His luck just kept getting better.

"Thanks," he told Mrs. Jones, "for telling me."

"I thought you had the right to know."

Crawley came over with a sheet of paper and a pen and nodded at Tom. Tom squinted his eyes, wondering what he wanted. Crawley motioned for Tom to take the materials when Mrs. Jones intervened.

"He won't be needing those, Mr. Crawley," she said.

Alex gave her a questioning look, so did Tom. Mr. Blunt just stared at the back of her head knowing what she was doing, and not exactly approving of it, at all.

"Please Alex, we know that you tell Tom everything. We could hear the conversation you had through the microphone in the camera, and we have your locker bugged."

"You _bugged_ my locker?" Alex said reproachfully.

"Standard procedure," this time Blunt answered.

Alec just rolled his eyes in response, Mrs. Jones decided to pick up here.

"Anyway, Tom hasn't talked since you began telling him, and there isn't any reason he would now. So Tom, you're being made an honorary member of MI6." She said.

Tom raised his eyebrows, K-Unit was shocked, while Alex started.

"_What?_" Alex practically yelled.

"Well, its that or we give him a new life, new name, new friends, probably new _country._" Blunt stated, very matter-of-fact.

"You're going to blackmail him, why am I not surprised!" Alex said

"Why?" That was Tom.

"Well Mr. Harris, you know too much, you could become a potential target for Alex's enemies. If you're a member of MI6, even an honorary member, you have the protection that every other spy has. You, of course, won't go on any missions as of yet, but you'd have the same protection that Alex has." Mrs. Jones said.

"You mean like the protection that stopped five men from breaking into the school?" Tom said sarcastically.

"_That_ was a breach in security, nothing more." Blunt said, he actually sounded offended.

"I don't really have a choice do I?" Tom asked.

Mrs. Jones just shook her head, her black hair reflecting the lights from above. Mr. Blunt did the same.

"So whaddya say Tom?" Alex said, he was still mad at Blunt and Jones, mainly Blunt, just because he liked Mrs. Jones more and couldn't imagine her wanting to get another kid involved in any of this, so he was trying to make the best out of an overall bad situation.

Tom raised his eyebrows once more, looking into Alex's face, Alex gave him a small nod, meaning he would be ok with it. Tom looked over at K-Unit to see them doing the same. He had grown to like and respect them in the few minutes he had spent with them. He looked over at the class, everyone signing the sheets they had before them, leaning on desks to write their signature, not listening to a word that was being said. He thought of their lives, their boring, routine lives. He thought of his life before he had met Alex.

The first day he had met Alex, he was being bullied, he was always being bullied. Then Alex had come around and defended him. All three boys that had bullied Tom never had again after that, and Tom and Alex had instantly become friends. He had made his decision. He would do this for Alex.

"Sure! Why not!" Tom answered, throwing his arms in the arm.

Alex just let out a breath he'd been holding and rolled his eyes, then got up to hug his friend. K-Unit just grinned at Tom, all coming to pat him on the back. Mrs. Jones was smiling at the group of friends too, Mr. Blunt just looked on passively.

In the end, Alex got the last word, for once.

"Welcome to the team!"

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**Well...whaddy think? did u like it? I think that I'm going to write a short eprologue to this, but other than that, this is the final chapter...please R&R!**

**Have any ideas for the sequel..please speak up! :D**


	10. Epilogue

**and after a few days of letting you stew about how I was going to do it...HERE'S THE EPILOGUE! sorry its late! i was writing the prologue and the first 2 chapters in 'What Happens.' I just posted chap. 2 today of that today, so I feel like I'm treating you guys by updating both of my stories! I still can't believe how long the chapters are! It makes these chapters seem soooooo short! But at long last, here it is! Hooray!**

**Ok..so i kept calling this an 'eprologue' but apparently that word doesn't exist...its 'epilogue'...'EPI'...how does that make sense..anyway...**

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews I've gotten! they're all wonderful! As usual..please Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer; I don't own Alex Rider, nor its characters...just the idea for the last invention...yes...:D**

**I hope you like it! :D**

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Everything had turned out ok. Tom was now more or less a member of MI6, and protected as a member because of it. The class had signed the Official Secrets Act and promised not to tell anyone what had happened, they didn't know if anyone would believe it anyway.

The cover story was that while Mr. Young's class has taken an unscheduled bathroom break, as a whole, and the air conditioner unit had caught on fire from being overused, and the explosion had knocked out the glass in the windows. Clever.

K-Unit had promised to keep in touch as they returned to the mission they had been on previously. Mr. Blunt went back to his office as usual. Mrs. Jones had promised to inform Alex if they got a lead on David or his activities, and said that Smithers wanted to show him one of his new adventures, but to wait a week so he can get the kinks out of it. They also wanted to give some time for Alex's rib to recover, and true to form, Smithers invention had had the broken ribs strong and healthy in that timeframe.

That was where he was headed now, with Tom by his side. School had just let out; though they had had to combine their English class with Mrs. Moreno's seeing as the windows in Mr. Young's classroom were still being fixed.

They walked down Main Street and into the bank that MI6 used for their undercover operations. Alex walked up to the secretary who smiled at him. Scarlett was her name. She was charming in her own way, a member of MI6 who played a harmless secretary while sorting through the people who walked through the door, reasoning who was here on the basis of their bank account, or for more important reasons. She hit a buzzer by her computer, the digital signal being sent through the circuit informing Mrs. Jones that Alex had arrived. Alex and Tom heard her respond through the speaker beside her computer

"Send them directly to Smithers area; I'm in a meeting at the moment."

"You know the way, I presume?" Scarlett said.

Alex nodded and said thanks before guided Tom over to the lone elevator that led to the banks real operations.

The silver door slid smoothly open, revealing carpeted floors, and silver walls. They stepped through while bland elevator music played from the speakers above. Bright lights from overhead beat down on them, reflecting off Alex blond hair, and making Tom's blue eyes shine.

There were no lights, no sounds, but Alex knew that somewhere behind the elevator walls there were mechanisms that were scanning them, searching their pockets for weapons, computers determining what brand of gum they had just by the shape of the package, and then sending a 'safe, unarmed' signal to those watching.

Tom was giddy with excitement, while Alex could only smile at his friend's antics.

The elevator took them up to the fortieth floor, where it opened, and a large man was there to greet them.

Smithers was smiling, his bulk taking up more than half the hallway.

"Hello, old chap!" He said happily. He grabbed Alex's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Now who do we have here?" He asked, nodding to Tom.

"Smithers, this is my best friend Tom Harris." Alex replied.

"Oh, Tom! Yes Tom! I've heard a lot about you! Mrs. Jones said you'd be coming! Why didn't I make the connection before?" He rambled. "This way!"

Smithers led them through various twists and turns finally reaching a white door that smoothly glided open as they approached.

Tom stopped walking. He was too busy gaping at everything. There were various inventions scattered through the large room, some being worked on, some being tested.

A one-man plane was gliding through the air as the test pilot concentrated on the controls. It was probably the size of a regular chair. It was practically soundless as it swept through the air, taking impossibly tight turns and twists.

Another invention had a woman firing a small gun at long range only for the bullet to explode on contact, creating a gaping hole in the testing wall.

Another invention had a man wearing a dark green metal suit. A woman standing next to the man pressed a button on her control, and fire shot out of the man's feet, making him fly off the floor, levitating a few feet from the cement ground.

"Tom. Tom?" Alex called, pulling Tom out of his stupor.

Tom ran to catch up with them as he continued to gaze at the inventions. Smithers was talking about something or other, but Tom wasn't hearing any of it, he was hoping Alex did though, so then he could repeat him later. They came to another set of white doors that had Smithers written on it. _His office_, Tom guessed.

They walked _through_ the door. Tom stopped abruptly, lost for words. The door hadn't opened, hadn't moved, Alex and Smithers had just stepped _through_ the door. It looked like glass, he could clearly see both on the other side, but he didn't understand how they did it.

Both noticed that their companion had stopped following once again and turned around to see Tom's pale face staring back at them. Smithers laughed seeing the heavily confused look on the boy's face while Alex smirked. Tom hadn't been through this, he didn't know of any of Smithers inventions.

Alex stepped back _through_ the door, the gel-like material conforming to his body, then righting itself like nothing had happened. Tom just stared.

"Come on Tom!" He said, feigning exasperation. He grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him through.

Tom held his breath as Alex pulled him through, but found he didn't have to. The cool material conformed to his body, hugging him, then letting go as he stepped through, conforming back to its door-like form.

Tom gaped back to the door, Alex still pulling him along as he followed Smithers into the office. He sat in a chair in front of a very large, very modern looking white desk. It didn't have any distinct edges; it just kept curving in on itself.

Smithers continued onto a cabinet a typed in a code on the touch screen keyboard, which opened it. It let out a gasp as the air pressure was released.

"This is my newest invention! I'm rather proud of it actually! Especially given that I can't give you any weapons, and only make things that looks like something a teenager could carry."

Smithers turned around, holding a sleek, silver ball the size of Alex's first. It had no openings, no buttons, nothing.

"What is it?" Alex asked, Tom was wondering the same thing.

"Well, my boy, I like to call it 'The Thing.' It does pretty much whatever you want it to." Smithers reached back into the cabinet and brought out a remote.

"It conforms to any shape you want it to, and with that shape, it does whatever the form taken can do." He raised the remote to his mouth, and set the silver sphere on the table. "Laptop"

The silver ball started to change form, a dent forming in the middle and continuing on into a 'V' shape, then making an 'L' as it slid open more.. Gracefully, the webby material slid into the form of a laptop, complete with every key.

"WOW!" Tom exclaimed. He rushed over and started to feel the thing, it was light weight and sleek, it felt like a real laptop. Alex did very much the same, gaping at the invention.

"Try going on the internet." Smithers teased.

Tom set it back down, and used the scroll pad to move to the internet icon, he clicked it, and the Google homepage popped up.

"That's so cool!" Both boys said.

"It has all the built in features of a laptop. You just have to tell it what to turn into through this control. Communications between you and MI6 is also in the control in case whatever you need it to change into isn't in it."

"And its mine?" Alex asked.

"Yes. Just don't go showing it around to anyone, it isn't patented yet, and I don't want anyone knowing about it yet. It's exclusively for MI6 operatives."

Tom looked a little put out. Smithers reached back into the cabinet and pulled out another sleek silvery ball and threw it at Tom. He caught the object, surprised at how light it was.

"That one's yours! Same rules apply." Smithers said.

Tom laughed and gaped at the thing, gazing at his reflection.

"Here are the remotes." Smithers walked over to either boys and handed them their remotes, respectively.

"Size doesn't matter when you want it to change, it will shrink, or it will get larger, just depends on what you want it to turn into."

Smithers was about to say something else, when the slow sucking sound of someone stepping through the 'door' echoed through the room.

They all turned to see Mrs. Jones standing there, holding a clipboard. Her black hair tied back, her sleek black suit covering her blue, ruffled blouse. Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked towards them, rolling a peppermint in her mouth.

She smiled when she saw the inventions.

"I see you've been introduced to your new toys." She said.

Tom and Alex were still grinning like idiots, and she laughed lightly. She nodded at Smithers, saying hello silently. They had been friends a long time, and he always seemed to be able to cheer her up with his new ideas.

"They're so cool!" Tom exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like them, Smithers had fun making them, trust me, he kept babbling about them whenever I saw him." Mrs. Jones said.

Smithers blushed and looked at the floor.

Suddenly, Mrs. Jones dropped her rare smile and became serious again, the feeling in the room changed as everything became tense.

"But that's not why I'm here. Tom, Alex, we need you for a special mission."

Alex knew it. Blunt was going to bring Tom in sooner or later, apparently sooner rather than later. Both nodded at her, then turned to Smithers.

"So, do we just carry these like this, or change them into something?" Alex asked.

"Oh, you can carry it in whatever form you like, they are extremely malleable and won't break even if you drop them," he replied.

Tom looked at his sphere, set it on the desk, and then spoke into his remote.

"IPOD." The sphere flattened itself out and then squashed itself into the shape of a touch screen IPOD, the backing taking on the color green, Tom's favorite color.

"You could even add song on that; I made it so it holds about 200 mb. You could download anything, play movies, watch TV, listen to the radio, anything."

Tom smiled as he scrolled through the different settings; settings that wouldn't normally be on an IPOD.

"Laser light? Blacklight? X-ray?"

"Huh-hm. Alex will explain those later, you two had better go."

Alex quickly changed his to the same thing, watching it transform into another IPOD, this one with a blue backing; Alex's' favorite color.

"Follow me." Mrs. Jones said casually. She walked out the 'door' and into the inventions room.

Tom and Alex both expressed their immense thanks for the wonderful invention before following Mrs. Jones out the 'door'

"Wow, my first mission AND my first gadget! Best day ever!" Tom said, walking up behind Mrs. Jones.

Alex just laughed at his friend's expression as they followed Mrs. Jones to a conference room down the hall. _Not Blunts office?_ Alex thought. That's where they usually briefed him.

The doors opened of their own accord as the trio stepped through.

Alex was surprised to see K-Unit lounging around. He raised eyebrows as he took them in. Wolf was sitting on the table, feet dangling off the sides, talking to Eagle, who sat below him in a chair. A little ways off Ben was talking to Snake, both facing each other in chairs.

They all looked towards the group as they walked in the room, everyone rushing up to be the first to give Alex and Tom hugs. It had only been a week since they had seen them, but it felt like a lot longer.

"Hey! Nice to see you guys too!" Alex said, trying to breathe through Ben's tight hug.

"Everyone please sit down, Mr. Blunts on his way." Mrs. Jones said casually.

They all took seats Tom sitting next to Alex and Ben as Wolf, Eagle and Mrs. Jones took seats on the other side of the long table, leaving the head chair patiently waiting for its resident.

True to form, Mr. Blunt walked through the door, ever the grey one. He sat down in the grey leather chair, and got right to the point.

"We have a problem."

* * *

**So? I know...you hate me because of the cliffhanger...but look past that...it totally left it open for a sequel! Not sure when I'll write that though...you'll just have to author alert me...(muahahah! my master plan is coming together!) *cough* completely disregard that last ****sentence. But I'm going to try and focus on What Happens for now...but you never know...so please REVIEW and tell me what you think! **

**Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews and thanks to all whose read this! It was very fun to write! I hope you'll check out What Happens!**

**BYE!**


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